Technology

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...New York taser deaths.WMV

...Taser San Jose.wmv

...Pepper Ball\Pepper ball.wmv

...corner shot.wmv

...Hollywood cameras.wmv

...red lights and robbery cameras.wmv

...GPS,DNA burg inv.

...Taser stabbing arrest.wmv

video in court.wmvRanger LBPD K-9.wmvGPS, Child Molester.wmvHS fight pepper spray.wmvPolice car cameras.wmvTaser saves.wmvTaser deranged man.wmvsecurity camera deputy.wmvCameras in Baltimore.wmv

Less-than-lethal weapons

US Department of Justiceuse-of-force continuum

1. Verbal commands

2. Use of hands

3. Chemical agents, baton or other impact weapon

4. Canine

5. Less-than-lethal projectiles

6. Deadly force

Where would electrical devices go?

New-age weaponsin wide use

Pepper spray Pepper balls Impact munitions Stun guns and Taser™

Pepper spray

Inflames mucus membranes, causes severe, highlydistracting irritation for up to twenty minutes

– Generally minor residual effects North Carolina study of suspect injuries before/after

pepper spray began to be used– Pepper spray is usually effective– Reduced number of assaults on police– Reduced citizen complaints of excessive force

Study of 63 prisoners who died after theuse of pepper spray

– Two of the 63 deaths (both asthmatics) were caused or made more likely by the use of pepper spray

– Pepper spray seems much less effective on persons under influence of drugs

Pepper Ball Guns

Fire small, hard plasticballs that shatter on impactand expel atomized pepper spray

Air powered, can cause welts andserious injury if balls directlystrike a person, which is anear-certainty as usually manyshots are taken (guns can firefull-auto)

Guns are expensive,up to $2,000 each

Not a close-in weapon

Impact munitions

Knockdown Shotguns are the most common delivery method

– Bean bag– Plastic batons (e.g., “rubber bullet”)

NIJ study of 373 incidents with 969 projectiles fired (65% beanbags, 28% plastic batons)

– 782 injuries, with 80% minor bruises and abrasions– Three and one-half percent of hits resulted in broken bones– One and one-half percent of hits penetrated the skin– Eight deaths

Police are trained to fire at center body mass (chest/abdomen)– Increases likelihood a suspect will be hit – Causes more severe injuries, especially at closer distances

Stun gun / “Taser”™

Electrical shock incapacitates byinducing involuntary musclecontractions

Stun gun – probes pushed against suspect Taser™ - shoots two darts up to 20 feet

Stun guns – goodand bad

Advantages– Subdue violent persons

without using deadly force– Reduce injuries to everyone

Concern– Can encourage use of force by

making it simple or enticing Are Tasers truly less than lethal”?

– Claims of safety and effectiveness exaggerated?

– May cause heart attacks if persons are agitated, under influence of drugs or have pre-existing medical problems

– NIJ-funded study of stun guns and Tasers is underway

Atlanta Police End StandoffWith Crane Climber Reuters, 5/28/05

SWAT team members used a Taser to arresta Florida murder suspect who tried to evadepolice by climbing atop a crane. Carl Roland,41, was taken into custody without furtherincident. “We got him into a position wherewe could effectively utilize the Taser in asecure environment without any risk of harmto Mr. Roland” said police.

Roland is a suspect in the strangulation of hisformer girlfriend, Jennifer Gonzalez, whosebody was found in a pond behind herClearwater, Florida apartment earlier thisweek.

The fugitive’s actions drew the attention of media from around the world. Some Atlanta residents also showed up with signs reading “Jump”.

A “stunned” terrorist

July 27, 2005, Birmingham: Yasin Omar, positively ID’d as one of the would-be bombers in the second wave of attacks six days earlier was arrested in an early a.m. raid. He was subdued with a stun gun.

An excellent applicationof the Taser

Officers repeatedly Tasered a manwho was being held down byneighbors after allegedly stabbinga 6-year old to death and criticallyinjuring his mother

By not using a gun:– Officers avoided endangering others – Officers avoided psychological trauma to themselves and

others– The suspect is alive to tell his side of the story. Is he in fact

the one responsible for killing the boy? (In this case it’s quite obvious, but things are not always as they seem!)

Tustin Man Dies afterTaser hit

City News Service and OC Register, 5/23-25/05

A burglary suspect died after Tustin police officers shot him twice with a Taser when theyfound him inside an unoccupied apartment thatwas littered with glass from a break-in. Richard Alvarado, 38, was apparently under theinfluence of drugs and uncooperative when hewas shot with the weapon.

In October 2003 a 40-year old Moreno Valleyman died after being shot twice with a Taser by Brea police. A lawsuit against the city and the device manufacturer, Taser International, is pending. Taser, which claims the product is safe, reports that it is presently defending against eleven wrongful death lawsuits connected with its use.

Although police chiefs are aware of the controversy most Orange County law enforcement agencies continue to use the device, which they feel is very useful.

K-9

Track, flush and arrest(“bite and hold”)

Search for weapons,drugs, explosives

Deterrence andintimidation

Instances of excessive application and misuse– Use against civil rights marchers and anti-war protesters– Image issue, particularly in minority communities

Less-than-lethal weapons – do they always work?

Corona Police Kill Assailantin Cinema L.A. Times, 5/5/05

Corona police officers responding to a 9-1-1 call shot and killed a man inside the Edwards Corona 15 movie theatres.

Officers first encountered the suspect behind a store, trying to slit his wrists with a butcher knife. Although police fired a Taser and several rounds from a beanbag shotgun the man got away, ran to an intersection and unsuccessfully tried to carjack a vehicle. Officers then chased the man to the theatre. A Corona police spokesperson said the man was shot because he posed a threat to officers.

Less-than-lethal weapons – considerations

Availability Suitability Crime severity Urgency Number of officers available Speed of response Stability of scene Suspect actions Presence of real or potential victims

Surveillance aids

Surveillancevideo cameras

Excellent opportunity to capture evidenceof crimes

Present in many businesses and publicvenues

– Archival (after-the-fact)– Real-time monitoring

Interpretation issues– Fixed positions– Audio not permitted

Image quality issues– Low frame rate and resolution– Little maintenance

Tape preservation issues Privacy concerns

Bringing the publicinto the fight

In July 2008 Pamela Fayed, wife ofwealthy gold tycoon James Fayedwas stabbed to death in a CenturyCity parking garage. Suspicion immediately centered on her husband, a suspect in a major trading fraud, a case in which she had been cooperating with the FBI. The couple is also in the middle of a divorce.

This video depicts a Suzuki SUV leaving the garage shortly after the murder. The couple had been in the building separately visiting their lawyers. The vehicle had been rented using James Fayed’s corporate credit card, and police believe that the passenger is James Fayed. The driver is unknown. This videotape was released to the news media in an attempt to identify him.

James Fayed and an employee, Jose Moya, who supposedly recruited the killer, are in custody awaiting trial for the murder.

Police car cameras

Same advantages andlimitations as fixedsurveillance cameras

Cannot be “on” all the time– Automatically activated

during traffic stops– Can capture audio from officer microphones

Expensive to purchase, install and maintain Issue – do they promise more than what is realistic?

Automated LicensePlate Imaging

Long Beach PD one of first withthe system

– Cost $20,000 per unit– Currently in 4 cars

Automatically image license plates of vehicles passing by police car in either direction

Plates automatically run for wants and warrants– Can image 3,000 per shift (officers can type in 150 max)– An alarm sounds if there is a “hit”– Every image recorded, can be downloaded at shift end

Eliminates accusations of profiling

Cell phone tracking

When cell phones are on they areelectronically connected to a tower.

Privacy concerns– Movements of cell-phone customers can be traced

after-the-fact through their telephone calls. Permanent electronic record of towers used Can often be done on written demand to a carrier by a law-

enforcement agency, or on issuance of a subpoena No search warrant necessary No probable cause determination required

– Real-time movement can also be captured when cell phones are “on” (calls not required)

Generally same guidelines A few courts are imposing search warrant/probable-cause

requirements

GPS –Global Positioning System

Replaces or supplants difficult andexpensive physical observation

Economic and practical benefits

Major limitation: location, not observation

• Should mere presence be sufficient?

• Is there a difference between being present in a school parking lot and at Hobby City?

Stoppingfleeing cars

On-Star “Stolen VehicleSlowdown” technology:Available in 1 million 2009 GM products, allows OnStar operator to remotely trigger a unit that restricts fuel flow, slowing vehicles down to 3-5 mph.

Star Chase “Pursuit Management System”: Launcher on front grill of police car fires a GPS tracking device that sticks on suspect vehicle. Presently being tested by LAPD.

DNA

DNA in Girl's Tears Pointto Killer, D.A. Says AP, 3/21/2005

According to the prosecutor, DNA fromSamantha Runnion’s tears was found in aninside door of the vehicle used by heralleged killer, Alejandro Avila. More DNAmaterial was found on the vehicle’s centerconsole and in scrapings taken from thevictim’s fingernails.

Samantha was kidnapped in July 2002 while playing in front of her home with a friend. Her body was found the next day. She had been sexually assaulted, then suffocated.

In an unrelated case, Avila was acquitted in 2001 of molesting two girls.

Hillside burglars

Between 2005-2008 a ring ofburglars stole more than $10 millionin cash and jewelry from 150 homesin West Los Angeles and BeverlyHills, repeatedly defeating video andalarm systems. Police finally gottheir break when DNA secretly collected from Troy Thomas by asurveillance team was matched to DNA left behind in 2006 and2008, reportedly on abandoned safes and inside homes. Whenarrested in January 2009 Thomas, a previously convictedburglar with two strikes, owned an auto brokerage andlived in a $1 million home. More arrests are pending.

DNA – what is it?

Molecules that carry genetic information specific for each person

Present in tissue, hair, bodily secretions (e.g., sweat) and fluids (e.g., blood, urine, saliva)

Arranged in two strands that spiral Each strand contains a sequence of

“bases”, the chemicals Adenine, GGuanine, Cytosine and Thymine

Bases are bound across strands, but only in these “base pairs”:A T G G C

biology.washington.edu

The only difference between people is in the sequence of these “base pairs”

DNA analysis

Actual sequence of base pairs fully identifies a particular person

– Cannot be used to match (there are too many base pairs in someone’s DNA!)

Each person inherits repetitive sequences of 20-100 base pairs (VNTR, variable number tandem repeats). These can be matched.

Types of DNA

Nuclear: DNA from a cell’s nucleus. It has the complete DNA sequence and has been accepted in Court as positive ID.

Mitochondrial: from a cell, outside the nucleus. Much m0re abundant than nuclear DNA but has only part of the DNA sequence.

– Cannot be used as positive ID but can rule out persons as a source– No general rule allowing its use in Court– Used in Scott Peterson trial: One hair found in his boat was

linked to his mother-in-law (both share a DNA sequence that is present in 1 out of 112 Caucasians).

YSTR: from the “Y” chromosome, found only in males.– Cannot be used as positive ID– Useful in sex assaults when female DNA obscures other DNA

sequences.

Considerations

Results can be a match, elimination or inconclusive– One dissimilarity (foreign VNTR pattern) eliminates

Probabilities can range from 1 in 20 to less than one in a million

Errors– Degradation through heat, light, moisture, bacteria– Band shifting– Contamination (coughing, sneezing, skin flaking)– False negatives seem more common (need only one

dissimilarity to exclude)

DNA Interpretation is Subject to Error

Virginia Governor Orders Review of150 DNA Cases by Crime Lab NY Times, 5/7/05

An error in examining the DNA of semen found in a rapevictim, which nearly led to the execution of the wrongperson, led Virginia’s governor to order a completereview of all cases handled by the lab’s director,Jerry Ban. The lab had twice failed to identify thetrue donor of the semen found in a victim even thoughthe person responsible for the crime was a convictedserial rapist.

Auditors from the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors sharply criticized the Virginia lab, once thought to be the nation’s finest, for caving in to pressures from the State’s former Governor to quickly solve cases.

Earl Washington, Jr.

Innocent but nearly executed

AFIS – Automated Fingerprint Identification System

FingerprintComparison

Compare pattern (loop, arch, whorl) If similar, then compare minutiae (where

ridges start, stop and separate)– Islands, dots, bifurcations,

ridge endings Set number of points (6-15) must

be identical in type and locationwith known print to make apositive identification

“Locations” found as on a mapand by counting ridges

AFIS

Most local jurisdictions send two copies of arrestee fingerprint cards to a State repository

One copy is forwarded to the FBI Most States and the FBI digitize these cards and store them in

a computer database Fingerprints of detained individuals and fingerprints (even

partial) recovered at crime scenes can be checked on these databases

– Fingerprints are digitized– Computer reports close “hits” to existing fingerprint images– A fingerprint examiner then makes a microscopic

comparison

Automated FingerprintIdentification System (AFIS)

Old system required having a 10-print card on file

– Questioned print compared to card

New system – AFIS– Digitizes 10-print cards

from arrested persons– Digitizes crime scene

prints– Compares both, looking

for possible matches Final match must be done in

the conventional way, by comparing minutiae

NIBIN – National Integrated Ballistic Information Network

Bullets –individual characteristics

Excepting shotguns, barrels are rifled to impart spin on a bullet

Different gun makers have different rifling schemes

– Different numbers of lands (raised area) and grooves

Rifling process creates imperfections inside the barrel, unique for each gun

– Can transfer unique markings to bullets

Compare known bullets fired on recovered gun with questioned (recovered) bullets

Cartridge casings –individual characteristics

Loading and extraction process will cause unique marks and scratches on shell casings

Firing pins may cause unique markings on primer

Face of the breech may cause unique markings

NIBIN – National IntegratedBallistic Information Network

Using a gun leaves unique markings on bullets and cartridge casings These markings are scanned into a computer and stored in a database

– Bullets and cartridge casings recovered from crime scenes– Bullets and cartridge casings test-fired through seized guns

New digital images are compared to those already in the database Any close “hits” are reported by the computer A technician then makes a microscopic comparison If there are sufficient points of identification it can be said that:

– Different bullets or cartridge casings are from the same weapon– A bullet or cartridge casing is from a specific weapon

Presently 182 law enforcement agencies participate in the program– No national database – not all-inclusive– LAPD, LASD and Cal DOJ have the equipment

Many success stories

Comparison example

Confirmationrequiresindividualmicroscopic comparison